Noon

Registration / Exhibitors

1:00p

Legislative Session Wrap: Bills & Breakdowns

Mae Lee Browning, OCDLA Legislative Director, with:

Thad Betz, Bend; Janis Puracal, Forensic Justice Project, Portland

Come learn which bills passed this session, with updates from Thad on Torres-Lopez and Janis on the junk science PCR bill.

2:00

Unscrambling Eggs: Trying to Make Sense of Prior Bad Acts Case Law

Sara Werboff and Dave Ferry, Oregon Public Defense Commission Appellate Division

Have you been confused since State v. Williams about which of your clients’ prior acts are admissible to prove he’s just that kind of guy? Has the string of ever-changing formulations from the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court got you bewildered? Do you know what to do with the reasoning of Davis? Tune in for the best current arguments we can muster to keep out this case-altering and incredibly unfair evidence and to hear our predictions about what the appellate courts will do next.

3:00

Break / Door Prizes

3:15

Bail and Pretrial Detention: How to keep clients out of jail prior to trial

Alec Karakatsanis, Director, Civil Rights Corps, Washington, D.C.

The session will talk about how to fight against pretrial detention, both mastering the applicable law and also how to use creative tactics and narrative to prevent clients from being detained prior to trial. In addition to digging into the relevant constitutional law and tangible strategy, we'll talk about how to counter certain myths and propaganda about bail that infects judicial decision-making.

4:15

Obtaining Thorough Expungements and Relief from Sex Offender Registration

Jesse Lohrke, Springfield

This session will cover practice tips for ensuring an expungement thoroughly clears the Computerized Criminal History (CCH) maintained by the Oregon State Police, as well as the Oregon State Police's recent statement regarding firearm rights restoration after expungement.

We will also address practical relief from sex offender registration in Oregon, including the avenues available, how risk leveling works, Static-99 basics, statistical likeliness to reoffend, preparation of a thorough petition, hearing strategy, and client preparation.

5:15

CLE adjourns for the day.

5:30

Welcome Reception

Open to attendees and attendees’ families. Vegan & kid friendly!

7:00

DEI Committee BIPOC Meetup

Defenders and investigators of color are invited to attend a reception hosted by OCDLA’s DEI committee. The committee is committed to building community for defenders of color and looks forward to forming new connections at this event. Hosted wine, sodas and desserts.

7:30

Yoga with S. Amanda Marshall

7:45

Continental Breakfast (included)

8:30

Appellate Update

Brett Allin, Oregon Public Defense Commission Appellate Division

This presentation will cover the greatest hits from the Oregon Supreme Court and Court of Appeals in the last year: pretrial elections, right to counsel, search & seizure, and much more. It will also offer practical tips for how to use appellate decisions in your trial practice. You won’t want to miss it!

9:30

Break / Door Prizes

9:45

President’s Awards & Board of Directors Candidate Statements

10:00

Protective Orders in Oregon: Criminal Law Considerations & Updates in the Law

Ben Scissors, Hillsboro

Protective orders are fast and loose: they move quickly, there is little time to prepare evidence and witnesses, and often the rules of evidence are relaxed. That dynamic has significant implications for a client navigating a parallel criminal case or facing potential criminal exposure. This CLE covers strategic thinking in these cases, ethical considerations, and recent updates in the law.

11:00

Recognizing Improper State Argument and Fighting Back

Grant Cole, Metropolitan Public Defenders, Portland

Stacy Du Clos, Oregon Public Defense Commission Appellate Division

12:00

Break / Transition

12:15

Lunch (included)

Sponsored by TravelPro, Tigard

12:15

Board of Directors Meeting

1:15

PCR

Zachary Newland, Evergreen, CO

Generously sponsored by Zack Stern, Salem

2:30

Break/transition; Board of Directors meeting concludes

2:45

Breakout: Felony Sentencing 101 (sentencing guidelines)

Tim Fleming, Public Defender Services of Lane County, Eugene

Breakout: The Psychology of Adolescent Development: What Criminal Defense Attorneys Should Know

Keiler Beers, Metropolitan Public Defenders, Portland

Over the past several decades, advances in neuroscience and evolving legal standards have converged to confirm a fundamental truth: adolescents are developmentally different from adults in ways that directly impact culpability, decision-making, and capacity for change. This training explores how those insights have reshaped the legal landscape—and what that means in practice. Participants will leave with concrete strategies to more effectively advocate for clients under 18 as well as emerging adults ages 18–25.

Breakout: Becoming Trauma-Informed Advocators

Robert Miller, FARA

We will take a journey to increase our capacity to understand our clients. Trauma‑informed services is an educational approach that recognizes how stress or past trauma can affect an individual's ability to learn and engage. It emphasizes creating safe, supportive environments where individuals feel understood and empowered. Facilitators use strategies that prioritize trust, choice, and emotional wellbeing to help all learners succeed.

3:45

Break

4:00

Breakout: Felony Sentencing 102

Brendan Hooks, Metropolitan Public Defender, Hillsboro

Breakout: When the State Wants to Silence Their Witness

Jennifer Myrick, Portland

This will be an informative session discussing methods attorneys can use to immunize a witness from prosecution and utilize Due Process to ensure the truth comes out. Diving into established practices as well as emerging doctrines, we will examine the issues witnesses face when their story disproves the State's narrative.

Breakout: What You Need to Know About Delinquency Law, or Kids Have Rights Too: A Delinquency Primer

Matthew Murphy, Youth, Rights, Justice, Portland

Norah Van Dusen, Levi Merrithew Horst, Portland

Topics of discussion will include:

5:00

CLE adjourns for the day.

8:00

Hot Breakfast (included)

9:00

Family Matters: Civil Cases, Domestic Relations and Domestic Violence

Lisa Ludwig & Robin Runstein, Portland

With 30 years each of experience representing clients in criminal and domestic relations cases, Lisa and Robin will share what to know when your clients are facing a charge alleging domestic violence when there are corresponding domestic relations and/or protection order matters. Learn ways to leverage adjacent family court litigation and how to avoid pitfalls.

10:30

Break / Door Prizes

10:45

OCDLA Business Meeting

11:00

Child / Elder Abuse

Michael Rees, Metropolitan Public Defenders, Portland

12:00

Adjourn

Noon

Registration / Exhibitors

1:00p

Update on the Profession

Legislative changes, access to ecourt changes, OPDS wage and other issues, investigation-relevant law changes, and what is likely to happen in the coming year.

James Comstock, Investigator, Portland

2:00

Getting the Most Out of an Evidence View

Henry Brown, Investigator, Portland

A discussion about how to set up evidence views, what to expect, and how to prepare. We’ll talk about the social side of evidence views and what information you can gain through your interactions with evidence coordinators. We will also take a look at photographing evidence, the gear to use and recommended photography practices.

3:00

Break / Door Prizes

3:15

Not So Intelligent Yet: AI Pitfalls for Attorneys and Investigators

Eli Rosenblatt, Investigator, Portland

AI is rapidly becoming more useful for legal professionals of all kinds, in myriad scenarios. Yet teams in all areas of law continue to be confronted with AI hallucinations, privacy concerns, and missing information. In this session, we’ll explore recent trends, sanctions, best practices, and prospects for the future.

4:15

Breakouts

How to Bill State & Federal Cases for New PIs

Steve Wilson, Investigator, Portland

Discovery Obligations

James Comstock, Investigator, Portland

4:45

Mentorship Speed Dating

Find yourself a mentor/mentee! Newbies meet experienced PIs, share your stories, make connections

5:15

Adjourn for the day.

5:30

Welcome Reception

Open to attendees and attendees’ families. Vegan & kid friendly!

7:00

DEI Committee BIPOC Meetup

Defenders and investigators of color are invited to attend a reception hosted by OCDLA’s DEI committee. The committee is committed to building community for defenders of color and looks forward to forming new connections at this event. Hosted wine, sodas and desserts.

7:30

Yoga with S. Amanda Marshall

7:45

Continental Breakfast (included)

8:30

Reality Capture: Modern Scene Documentation

Andrew Borges, Investigator, Albany

Modern reality capture tools enable professionals to document scenes comprehensively from both aerial and ground perspectives. This session will demonstrate how drones, conventional cameras, and LiDAR-enabled mobile devices can be used to produce highly accurate maps and 3D models when paired with appropriate workflows, equipment, and processing software. These deliverables can support case planning, expert analysis and courtroom presentation. They can also assist other experts, such as crash reconstructionists, by providing reliable spatial data and measurements for their work. When collected using proper workflows, these models can achieve centimeter-level accuracy and preserve conditions close in time to the incident, resulting in visuals that provide counsel with a current, objective representation of the scene under conditions similar to those at issue in the case.

9:30

Break / Door Prizes

9:45

President’s Awards & Board of Directors Candidate Statements

10:00

Digital Assets and the Evolution of Financial Crime

John Yaros, President, VirFin Solutions, Boise | Read More

Attendees will gain an understanding of the digital asset ecosystem and its infrastructure including the differences between cryptocurrency, stablecoins, nonfungible tokens (NFTs), and tokenized assets. Conference participants will also learn about the most prevalent types of financial crime methodologies involving digital assets, threat actors, and the organizational structures that are enabling cyber and financial crime to proliferate. Lastly, the presentation will highlight some criminal cases involving digital assets from varying perspectives. By understanding the digital asset ecosystem, financial crime methodologies and structures, and types of cases being brought, criminal defense attorneys will have a better idea of how to defend their clients.

11:00

Building a Stronger Record: What Forensic Psychologists Need from Investigators in Juvenile Waiver Cases

Molly Persky, PsyD, Licensed Psychologist; Certified Forensic Evaluator; Director of Juvenile Evaluations, Lithia Forensics & Consulting, Portland

This presentation will focus on how investigators can more effectively gather critical information forensic psychologists rely on when conducting juvenile waiver evaluations. Attendees will learn which witness interviews, collateral sources, and records are often overlooked, and how filling those gaps can directly impact clinical opinions and legal outcomes.

12:00

Break / Transition

12:15

Lunch (included)

Sponsored by TravelPro, Tigard

12:15

Board of Directors Meeting

1:15

Video Evidence and Law Enforcement: Best Practices vs Real World

Joshua Cohen, Fat Pencil Studio, Portland

In a world awash with AI-generated images and video, attorneys and investigators are forced to ask, “How can I be sure this evidence is authentic?” It is possible to answer this question when law enforcement follows best practices for collecting digital media. Unfortunately, this rarely happens. In the real world, law enforcement often relies on unqualified parties to collect and submit video clips of their choosing without verifying that all relevant footage was collected at the native camera resolution and submitted in its original form without alteration. This session will cover a range of common problems with video evidence and strategies for pushing back against unsupported charges.

2:30

Break/transition; Board of Directors meeting concludes

2:45

Digital Forensics for the Defense: What the Evidence Really Shows

Understanding Mobile Device Extraction, Law Enforcement Limitations, and How to Effectively Challenge Digital Evidence

Scott King, Investigator, Corvallis

Digital evidence is increasingly central to criminal cases, but most defense attorneys receive a Cellebrite report without the tools or context to evaluate what it actually contains, what was excluded, and where the process may have gone wrong. This session provides a practical attorney-focused walkthrough of how mobile devices are forensically examined, what legal constraints govern law enforcement during extraction and analysis, and how to use Cellebrite Reader to conduct your own independent review. Attendees will leave with concrete strategies for challenging digital evidence, identifying what to demand in discovery, and knowing when to call a forensic expert.

3:45

Break Transition

4:00

AI Tools for PIs

Steven Marrocco, Investigator, Salem

5:00

Adjourn for the day

8:00

Hot Breakfast (included)

8:30

What Happens (And Doesn’t) When Your Clients Go to Prison: An Insider’s Perspective

Mark Wilson, Oregon Justice Resource Center, Portland

Mr. Wilson will share what your clients can expect to experience within the Oregon Department of Corrections based on 37 years of lived experience within the Oregon prison system. Mr. Wilson will discuss the needs and opportunities for both counseling and education, health care issues, aging and elderly prisoners, jobs and pay, court access and retaliation issues, and many other topics of interest to your incarcerated clients, their families and those who seek to advise them to take lengthy plea deals.

9:30

Break

9:45

Small Group Ethical Issues Workshop (Ethics)

James Comstock, Steve Wilson

10:45

OCDLA Business Meeting

11:00

OPTIONAL Join General Sessions Abuse Reporting Session

Michael Rees, Metropolitan Public Defenders, Portland

12:00

CLE Adjourns